A growing collaboration among six Rivertown municipalities is advancing a new model for local climate action, one that pairs environmental progress with deeper forms of community engagement and regional connection.
The Rivertowns Intervillage Sustainability Network (RISN) brings together volunteer-led conservation commissions, sustainability groups, and municipal leaders from the villages of Irvington, Dobbs Ferry, Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow, Hastings-on-Hudson, Elmsford and Ardsley. Founded in 2018, they are coordinating efforts across village lines to accelerate climate action, share resources, and build a more connected and resilient region.
Originally formed to strengthen coordination and share information among local sustainability initiatives, RISN is now evolving into a platform for broader public participation. Recent efforts have focused on making climate action more visible, accessible, and engaging to residents across the Rivertowns.
A key force behind RISN’s formation and continued momentum has been Haven Colgate, a longtime environmental leader and connector within the Rivertowns. Colgate, who joined the Hastings-on-Hudson Conservation Commission in 2009, has played a central role in bringing together disparate local groups into a more cohesive network, helping to shape RISN’s horizontal collaborative structure and ethos. Her work has emphasized the importance of regional thinking grounded in local relationships, an approach that continues to guide the network’s growth.
Building on this foundation, member Charlotte Binns has expanded RISN’s engagement strategies through new approaches designed to meet residents where they are and invite broader participation. One example is the Rivertowns Earth Month Scavenger Hunt, a region-wide, family-friendly game that uses the Goosechase platform to encourage stewardship, exploration, and friendly competition across municipalities. Participants earn points for completing missions tied to local events, environmental actions, and everyday sustainable behaviors, contributing to both individual and village-wide outcomes.
In parallel, new programming spearheaded by Binns, namely her Chaos & Catharsis series introduces a complementary dimension to RISN’s work. While many sustainability efforts focus on external actions, this series creates space for residents to engage with the emotional, cultural, and relational dimensions of living in a time of rapid change. Through a combination of dialogue, practice, and shared experience, it aims to strengthen the social cohesion and sense of agency that underpin effective collective action.
Together, these additions reflect an expansion of RISN’s work. In addition to coordinating projects among the members of municipal sustainability commissions advancing policy, the network is increasingly focused on resident participation, connection, and the conditions that enable communities to act together over time.
“Resilience lives at the local level,” said Binns, Irvington’s Director of Sustainability and a RISN collaborator. “It is where we weave the fabric of physical daily connection and the net that will catch us in troubled times.”
As RISN continues to grow, it offers a model for how neighboring communities can work together to address shared challenges, while strengthening the relationships that make long-term resilience possible.
More information about RISN and upcoming initiatives can be found at resilientrivertowns.org.
